Versatile Polamalu acts as Steelers stifling safety net

PITTSBURGH 
It played like a classic drama, a modern-day version of Troy-vs.-Sparta, including a real Troy from Troy. In the clash of titans, Troy Polamalu did a full-speed head-on collision with LaDainian Tomlinson, the kind of confrontation that people really do pay large dollars to see.

Of course, it was just a commercial. Advertising 201. A creative sales pitch for shoes. Something they got paid large dollars to do.

Truth be told, the two titans didn't really clash, didn't even run into each other. To create the optical illusion, they were told to repeatedly run past each other, leaving the real deal to stunt doubles.

“It was crazy,” said Polamalu yesterday amid the reality of the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room. “After the two of us ran by each other, ran by each other, they said, 'OK, let's go live.' We were like, 'Oh yeah, we want to watch this.' So the two stunt guys hit each other 10, 15 times. We were like, 'This is getting old,' so we just left. They were still killing each other when we left.”

Looks like Polamalu and Tomlinson may miss each other again, may have to wait longer for an on-field version of the commercial. They've yet to really collide one-on-one in NFL games against each other, and Tomlinson is not going to play tomorrow when the Chargers and Steelers meet in an AFC divisional playoff game at Heinz Field.

“I won on the commercial,” Polamalu said. “In real life, he would have won, definitely. He's the best. LT is maybe the greatest running back to have played the game.”

Polamalu's name automatically comes up when people start throwing around similar accolades about NFL safeties and debates about who's the best, and the Chargers may play against the only three on the short list in three weeks'time.

Last week it was Bob Sanders, the Indianapolis Colts safety who was last year's NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Next week, if the Chargers beat the Steelers and Baltimore beats Tennessee, the Ravens will field turnover-eating safety Ed Reed, who won the league award in 2004 and was third in the 2008 voting.

The recipient of the 2008 honor was Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who immediately said he thought it should have gone to Polamalu, who finished fifth with a couple of first-place votes. If the Chargers were allowed a team vote based on their personal experience, they might've agreed with Harrison.

Polamalu simply gave the Chargers fits in the Nov. 16 game, won by the Steelers 11-10. The score would have been 17-10 if referees hadn't incorrectly disallowed a fumble return for a TD by Polamalu on the game's wild last play.

“The game was over, so it doesn't really matter,” said Polamalu with a wry grin. “No controversy here. Some other locker room, but not here.”

The Chargers had their own gripe, one also involving Polamalu, credited with an interception of a ball just a blade of grass off the turf. Whether the ball actually touched the grass – and officials ruled it didn't after seeing the replay – Polamalu did well just to get a single hand under the ball.

“That was pretty special,” he said, this time unable to suppress the tongue in his cheek. “I used to do that all the time as a kid. My high school film is filled with that.”

USC is where Polamalu first established his reputation as a hard-hitting safety. He was with the Trojans when first encountering Darren Sproles, then at Kansas State and now essentially taking the place of the injured Tomlinson for San Diego.

“He juked me,” Polamalu said.

It was almost kismet when Polamalu, a Southern California native, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round in 2003. Primarily a special-teams guy his rookie year, Polamalu's fortune grew as long as his outsized hair with the return of defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau for a second stint with the Steelers.

LeBeau, though 71 years old, gets after it. He's credited with the introduction of the “zone blitz” that Pittsburgh's top-rated defense works to terrifying near-perfection, not just a little of that owing to Polamalu, who's made the Pro Bowl every year since LeBeau's arrival.

“He's fun,” LeBeau said. “He can do anything. He can blitz. He can intercept. He can play at a linebacker depth or he can play 30 yards down the field. There's no parameters on him. He's a lot of fun for a defensive coordinator.”

LeBeau was quite a defensive back in his own playing days, still holding the NFL record for cornerbacks with 171 consecutive games played. He retired with 62 interceptions.

Polamalu has seven interceptions this season – nearly equaling his total (10) for his first five seasons – but you can't put a number on the kind of havoc he creates or the amount of attention he demands of quarterbacks and all offensive players. He's also served notice that the Chargers are playing a different kind of game now.

“We're not an Indianapolis-style defense where we're going to give up a certain amount of yardage and be satisfied giving up three points,” Polamalu said. “Our style of defense is to try to choke out offenses, not even give them checkdowns, screens and all those type of things. That's more the personality of our defense.”